Very Light Jet Magazine

from European Business Air News - August 2006 

The members of the British Business and General Aviation Association (BBGA) cover all aspects of Very Light Jets (VLJs) operations and the Association has given considerable thought on how the VLJs will be integrated into business and general aviation. It is recognised that in civil aviation there are already small turbo-jet aeroplanes, with similar performance to that proposed for VLJs, operating in the private role with single pilots and the military have operated high performance single pilot jet aeroplanes for many years.

VLJs by definition are aeroplanes with a maximum all up weight not exceeding 10,000 lbs, powered by turbo-jet engines and capable of being operated by a single pilot. There has been considerable publicity recently on VLJs that has mainly portrayed who the manufacturers are, what their products are likely to be and what they are capable of doing. The range that most of the VLJs are being designed for, and their short field performance, makes them very suitable for European operations and opens up many airfields that are otherwise not available to turbo-jet aeroplanes. However to get to most European destinations from the United Kingdom will require transiting what is probably the highest air traffic density airspace in the World. As yet no VLJ has been certificated by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) but it is anticipated that by the end of 2006 some will be.

The numbers of VLJs that are expected to be operated within the UK, Europe and beyond are difficult to define but it is not expected that there will be a sudden influx. One of the driving forces for the VLJ is the low purchase price when compared with current small turbo-jet aeroplanes and this will be attractive to anyone who fancies owning and flying a jet aeroplane as well as those who wish to run an air taxi type business or reasonably cheap corporate operation.

With access to main airports becoming increasingly difficult for non-airline operators, business aircraft are making full use of alternative lesser-used airfields. VLJs, with their proposed good field performance, will offer even more airfields than those operated for the larger business jets. This will add to the flexibility for those wishing to have an airfield close at hand for residency and business purposes so saving considerable time and hassle with the procedures at the larger airfields. However operators will need to be careful when flying from short runways as the take-off and landing performances could become critical.

Accommodating the VLJs on the ground will need careful planning as they will require hard standings for parking and as they have sophisticated technical equipment will need hangarage to avoid the rigours of the British weather. Hangarage at most UK airfields is already at a premium and certain airfields may not have problems in getting planning permission for any additions but local planning authorities may not look kindly on others. With security regulations on aircraft operations being tightened by the European Commission (EC) and Department for Transport (DfT), vigil on the security of the aircraft on the ground will be necessary as the potential damage that a VLJ could do to any target by one stolen or in the wrong hands would have tremendous repercussions.

As far as maintenance is concerned there should be few problems as most VLJs will be certificated under Certification Standard (CS) 23 and parts of CS 25, will require maintenance by Part 145 facilities and maintenance organisations should be able to cope provided that they can overcome the perennial problems of labour shortages and availability to Type Rating Course for the VLJs close to their place of business.

JAR-FCL requires that anyone wanting to fly a turbo-jet aeroplane must obtain a type rating. For Private Pilot's Licence (PPL) holders this will require specific studies in various aspects of the operation of high performance aeroplanes and a minimum of 200 hours flying experience. To get the most out of the VLJs capabilities, PPL holders will also need an Instrument Rating (IR). It is expected that any holder of a Professional Pilot's Licence who is aiming to fly a VLJ for any purpose will already have an IR.